Heavy recovery firm picks up the pace with DAF New XF17 April 2018

Vehicle service and recovery business RD Avery has taken delivery of its first new recovery vehicle, a DAF New XF 530 FAS.

The high spec 6x2 rigid offers up to 90 tonnes trainweight for heavy recovery work and was chosen to meet growing demand, with the operator’s turnover doubling in the last three years.

The vehicle was selected after a visit to last year’s Commercial Vehicle Show by Stewart Lee, RD Avery’s head of recovery, and founder Ray Avery, after an invitation from dealer Adams Morey.

Lee spoke with Boniface, the operator’s preferred bodybuilder, who confirmed the vehicle’s suitability: “We placed the order there and then,” says Lee.

The Boniface body and the latest Mk6 K-Boom lifting equipment make this one of the most sophisticated recovery units in the UK, along with its 523bhp MX-13 engine, 16-speed TraXon automated gearbox and hub-reduction drive axle.

The Super Space cab is specified with heated leather seats, LED headlights, a leather finished steering wheel and door trims, driver’s airbag and a fridge.

RD Avery has ADR technicians so also had the New XF fitted with a master switch that allows instant isolation of the vehicle’s electrical system.

The operator has previously bought quality used chassis to get the heavy recovery specs it wanted, including ex-MOD vehicles, with each then fitted with new bodies and recovery equipment. The New DAF XF is the first all-new heavy recovery truck on the fleet, which today numbers some 20 vehicles, among them four units with under-lifts, three with cranes and a number of lighter trucks for recovery of vehicles such as ambulances.